The New York Mets today announced that outfielder Lucas Duda was named the Sterling Organizational Player of the Year while lefthanded pitcher Mark Cohoon earned Sterling Pitcher of the Year honors.

In addition, the Mets announced the 2010 Sterling Awards, emblematic of the Most Valuable Player for each of their nine minor league affiliates.

Righthanded pitcher Dillon Gee was the Sterling Award recipient at Buffalo (AAA) of the International League; outfielder Kirk Nieuwenhuis received the award for Binghamton (AA) of the Eastern League; shortstop Wilmer Flores was honored at St. Lucie (A) of the Florida State League; outfielder Cesar Puello captured the award for Savannah (A) of the South Atlantic Leauge; outfielder Darrell Ceciliani received the honor for Brooklyn (A) of the New York-Penn League; third baseman Aderlin Rodriguez was tabbed for Kingsport (R) of the Appalachian League; righthanded hurler Domingo Tapia was honored for the rookie-level Gulf Coast Mets; centerfielder Eudy Pina was selected for the Dominican Summer League Mets #1 and catcher Hector Alvarez received the award for the Dominican Summer League Mets # 2.

Duda combined to hit .304 (129-425) with 74 runs scored, 40 doubles, two triples, 23 home runs and 87 RBI in 115 games between Binghamton and Buffalo. He became the fifth player in the 125-year history of the Buffalo franchise to hit home runs in five consecutive games when he accomplished the feat from June 28th-July 2nd. The 24-year-old finished tied for the team lead, and New York Mets organizational lead, with 17 home runs despite playing in only 70 games with the Bisons.

Cohoon, who was the Sterling Award winner for Brooklyn in 2009, combined to go 12-5 in 26 starts with Savannah and Binghamton this season. In 161.1 innings he allowed 46 earned runs for a 2.57 ERA. The lefthander allowed 142 hits and 32 walks while striking out 131 for a better than 4:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Cohoon, who celebrates his 23rd birthday today, allowed two earned runs or less in 22 of his 26 starts this season including all 13 outings with the Savannah Sand Gnats. The 2010 South Atlantic League All-Star was also tied for fifth among all Mets minor leaguers in strikeouts.

Gee was previously honored in 2008 as the Sterling Award winner for St. Lucie before his record setting season with Buffalo in 2010. The righthander struck out a Buffalo franchise record and International League leading 165 batters while going 13-8 with a 4.96 (89 earned runs / 161.1 innings pitched) ERA . The 24-year-old also ranked second in the IL in Wins.

Nieuwenhuis hit .289 (114-394) with 81 runs scored, 35 doubles, two triples, 16 home runs and 60 RBI in 94 games with the B-Mets before being promoted to Buffalo on August 5th. The 2009 Sterling Award winner for St. Lucie led Binghamton in runs scored, doubles, RBI and total bases. The 23-year-old was named to the Eastern League's Eastern Division All-Star team before moving on to Buffalo and hitting .225 (27-120) over his final 30 games of the year.

The 19-year-old shortstop began the season with Savannah before moving to St. Lucie during the final month of June. In 67 games in the Florida State League he hit .300 (83-277) with 18 doubles, one triple, four home runs and 40 RBI. The 2008 Sterling Award winner for Kingsport hit an astounding .508 (32-63) against lefthanded pitching with St. Lucie while combining to drive in 84 over his two stops in the organization, which ranked second among all Mets minor leaguers.

Rightfielder Cesar Puello hit .292 (118-404) with 80 runs scored, 22 doubles, 34 RBI and 45 stolen bases for Savannah. The 19-year-old speedster ranked fifth in the SAL, and first in the Mets organization, in stolen bases and led Savannah in hits, runs scored, doubles, and total bases.

At 20 years of age, Darrell Ceciliani was the youngest player on the Brooklyn roster and one of the youngest in all of the New York-Penn League. By the end of the season, the centerfielder was also the NYPL's leading hitter with his .351 (95-271) average. He also established a franchise record with 95 hits, 56 runs, and 12 triples this season, which lead the organization, while being named to the NYPL All-Star team.

Third baseman Aderlin Rodriguez was the offensive leader of the Kingsport Mets, hitting .312 (78-250), 44 runs, 22 doubles, 13 home runs and 48 RBI in 61 games with the K-Mets. The 18-year-old slugger ranked fifth in the Appalachian League in average, third in home runs, hits, and RBI, while also ranking second in doubles and fourth in runs scored.

Righthanded pitcher Domingo Tapia went 4-3 with a 3.45 ERA in 10 games, all starts, allowing 25 runs, 18 earned, and 49 hits over 47.0 innings while walking 10 and striking out 29. The 18-year-old hurler did not allow more than two earned runs over his final seven starts of the season, pitching to a 1.96 ERA (eight earned runs / 36.2 innings) over this span dating to July 15th.

Centerfielder Eudy Pina was an offensive force for the DSL Mets #1 all season long. The 19-year-old led the team in average (.310), runs scored (42), hits (77), doubles (14), triples (four), home runs (three), RBI (45), and stolen bases (29).